FETs Deliver

You want that warm tube glow. You want that tube sustain. Plus you want portability and battery operation. It's a wonderful
world. With a JFET, you can have all that and more . A JFET is the real deal. It delivers on the promise. And it's the only true
answer.

FETs Versus Op Amps

If you've ever heard an op amp, you probably wonder why it sounds so pinched. The secret's in the circuit. A
look inside reveals tens, hundreds or thousands of devices. You have feedback loops, compensation, current mirrors and
a whole lot more.

The op amp sounds different because it is different. Go with a FET: You're back to simple construction
and sweet sound. The price can be less than an op amp costs.

Space requirement. Besides, a FET takes up less space than an op amp does. All you need fits onto a little
piece of perfboard.

Average power drain is about 2 mA. A 9-volt battery lasts a long time. (Not as long as with the J201 circuit.
But long enough.)

Trouble finding resistors?

Converting the Preamp to a Buffer

•Circuit for loud players. Hearing too much distortion? Or just want to
play loud? You might prefer a slightly different version of the preamp. In this version,
the output comes off the source lead. Less of the signal appears across the source
resistor than across the drain resistor. For this reason, this circuit is an attenuator.
The reduced output signal is unlikely to overdrive your power amp. Here's the
gain formula for this circuit...

•Standard buffer. The standard buffer is a source-follower that produces a non-inverted
output at the source. The voltage gain is almost one (typically 0.95 with FETs). This
circuit offers an advantage over the circuit in Figure 2. While the Figure 2 circuit likely
won't overdrive your power amp, Figure 2 could overdrive itself. That is, this
circuit attenuates its output, but not its input. The standard buffer is another matter.
It attenuates its input. Especially on positive peaks, overdriving a standard buffer is
difficult.

•Circuit for: Not enough output. If an attenuator doesn't offer enough output: Adjust the ratio
of the drain and source resistors. For example: The sum of the two resistors is (1,500 + 560) ohms =
2,060 ohms. You can split this figure evenly, giving a 1K source resistor and a 1K drain resistor. The
voltage gain is now one. Plus, the new circuit is a handy phase splitter: You can take the non-inverted
signal from the JFET source. Or you can take the inverted signal from the drain.

•Comparison to standard buffer. The Figure 4 circuit will compete very nicely with a standard buffer.
An advantage of the phase splitter over the standard buffer: The output from the phase splitter is unlikely
to clip on either the positive or negative excursion. Reason: The phase splitter operates with only half as
much negative bias on the gate.

Negative input problem. With the standard buffer (Figure 3), a negative input from the
guitar might cause JFET channel closure. (Stomp box expert R.G. Keen mentions this situation.) Clipping of
negative excursions is unlikely, but possible. In our phase splitter (Figure 4), the story is
different: The bias voltage never approaches the cutoff, that is, the VGS(off) value.

•Circuit for: Safe voltage Divider Bias. Other pages suggest a voltage divider to stably bias the
JFET gate. Normally this voltage divider runs between the power rails. Unfortunately achieving halfway bias
for the JFET entails matching the source resistor just right. The idea is that the proper source resistor
keeps the gate at a safely negative potential. (Otherwise, inadvertent application of positive bias to
the gate could destroy the JFET.) Worse still, resistor tolerances don't allow perfection.

Avoid the risk and the bother! Try the circuit in Figure 5! Now you can safely achieve
halfway bias. Here, the source resistor is your voltage divider. You can bias the JFET so that neither
of your guitar's signal excursions will cause clipping. The Figure 5 circuit offers another advantage:
It provides a higher input impedance (better sensitivity) than do typical voltage-divider bias
circuits. The high impedance protects those crucial high notes from tone sucking. Superior tone is
coming to an amplifier near you!

Figure 5. This JFET preamp also has a voltage gain of 1. This source-follower circuit
adds feedback between the gate and source. The source resistor is a voltage divider that
provides midway bias for the JFET.

♦ WARNING. This is your project. Your achievement is entirely yours.
I assume no responsibility for your success in using methods on these pages. If you
fail, the same is true. I neither make nor imply any warranty. I don't guarantee
the accuracy or effectiveness of these methods. Parts, skill and assembly methods
vary. So will your results. Proceed at your own risk.

♦ WARNING. Electronic projects can pose hazards. Soldering irons
can burn you. Chassis paint and solder are poisons. Even with battery projects,
wiring mistakes can start fires. If the schematic and description on this page
baffle you, this project is too advanced. Try something else. Again, damages,
injuries and errors are your responsibility. — The Webmaster